A New brave Captain
by HUDSON46
Summary: These events are inspired by season 3. New character joins the crew , Liza Stallone .
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Neither SeaQuest or the characters belong to me, they belong to their owners.

(These events are inspired by season 3)

O'Neil was in his quarters using his computer when there was a knock at the door.

"It's open!" he said.

A girl in a SeaQuest Navy uniform came in and watched him for a while so he had to start the conversation, "Hi Liza. Come on in. Sit down."

She sat on edge of his bed seemingly hesitant to ask the question on her mind, "So, what do you think about our new captain?"

He came to sit next to her at the end of the bed and breathed deeply before he answered.

"Listen, you may not have the same feelings towards Captain Bridger. I mean you have been on the SeaQuest for only for few months now… or 10 years and few months. Captain Bridger was like a father or a big brother to us. He cared for all of us, and shared all of the good and bad moments with us too."

She stared at him for a moment before replying, "That isn't an answer for the question that I asked."

"Well, I didn't like him." Tim sighed.

She smiled at him and replied, "You know what I like most about you Tim?"

He laughed and said, "You mean besides talking with you, in your mother tongue?"

"Well, besides talking Italian with me... You are the emotional type." she replied, with a big smile.

He returned her smile and asked, "What about you? What do you think about him?"

She raised her eyebrows before answering, "I think that life on the SeaQuest won't be easy anymore."

"SeaQuest, this is Lucas, I'm being fired on!" Lucas yelled, he was in the naval shuttle that he had stolen from the UEO.

Captain Hudson glanced at Commander Ford then replied, "That's an unfortunate situation Mr. Wolenczack, but we are presently engaged."

"But I have Captain Bridger with me." Lucas pleaded.

Hudson raised an eyebrow and took a deep breath when he heard Fredericks' voice, "This is lieutenant Fredericks, in Spector one, sir, I need your call."

Every crew member on the Bridge watched Hudson cautiously, awaiting his answer, while Liza and O'Neil looked at each other, having a long silent eye communication that was interrupted by Hudson's voice, "Let the captain in, lieutenant."

"But sir, we will lose Nexus." She objected.

Captain Hudson answered in a sharp voice, "I said bring Captain Bridger to his boat, lieutenant."

"Yes, sir!" she replied.

O'Neil pursed his lips together giving Liza a side glance, when he saw her smiling back at him, her eyes widened in admiration.

Liza was on her way to her quarters, after her shift was over when she met Lucas coming out of Hudson's quarters with a smile of pride on his lips.

"Hi, Lucas!"

"Hey Liza! How are you doing?" He replied, with smile still on his face.

"So what's behind that smile?" she asked curiously.

He put his hands into his trousers pockets and replied quietly, "I am going to sign up for duty."

She stared at him for a second then said, "Wow, what a brave decision! Good one though. But why now?"

He nodded towards the door of Hudson's quarters saying, "He won't let any civilians on board the SeaQuest anymore... See you lieutenant." He said, leaving in a hurry and leaving her to look amazed at the closed door.


	2. Chapter 2

"You wanted to see me sir?" Liza asked, as she's walked into the Ward room on SeaQuest.

Hudson nodded towards the chair facing him and said, "Sit down lieutenant, Commander Ford and the others should be here soon."

It was only a couple of minutes before Ford, Brody, Henderson and Dagwood joined them in the Ward Room.

Hudson stood up and turned on the plasma monitor which showed two adjacent pictures of a male and a female wearing UEO uniforms.

"This is Admiral Van Alden and Commander Pamela Loper, they have seized control of the UEO base in Mariana trench." Hudson said.

Everyone in the room looked at each other in surprise so Hudson nodded in response, "Yes, we have a base there, but it is unannounced... Van Alden has already launched missiles against a Macronesian outpost and has destroyed it."

"Sir, how did they react about that?" Ford asked.

Hudson put his hands on his hips and breathed in deeply, "We had to apologize and said that it was an accidental mistake. And we were lucky enough that they accepted our apology.

"Well, what does that have to do with SeaQuest, sir?" Jim asked.

Hudson turned to face him answering, "He still has the base, Lt. Brody and he is not going to stop."

Liza stood up and moved towards the screen, "But repeating this incident will plunge the human race into a nuclear war, sir."

He turned to look at her, "This is what we're working on, to try and prevent it, Lt. Stallone." He crossed his arms in front of his chest and turned to face all of them, "Our mission is to neutralize the base and prevent a world war. I am going there to meet the admiral and relieve him of his command. Dagwood, I will need you with me."

Liza interrupted, "I guess that you will need me too, sir. To disable the sophisticated system that UEO uses in its bases, especially as ensign Wolenczack hasn't recovered from his cold yet and still needs rest."

He looked at her and nodded.

Ford asked again, "But Captain, what if you fail?"

Hudson raised his eyebrows in answering, "If you don't hear from us after 24 hours, then SeaQuest has a clear order of destroying the base."

After a brief moment of silence Henderson said, "But sir, there are over a 100 people on the base."

Hudson pursed his lips then answered, "And how many people are on the planet, Lieutenant?" _

Hudson and his chosen group arrived at the Mariana base in a UEO shuttle shortly after their meeting in the Ward Room and upon arrival they were suddenly surrounded and herded closer towards the base with lasers, by Admiral Van Alden probes.

Finally, once on the inside of the base Hudson and the group found their way into a rather large (but crowded) opening, and watched several workers here and there, and it seemed that none of them looked like they even noticed the Captain and his fellows coming into the base.

Captain Hudson had to yell, to get their attention, "Captain Oliver Hudson of SeaQuest, I am here to see Admiral Van Alden."

A middle age lady appeared seconds later, surrounded by several soldiers carrying plasma rifles. "A girl, a freak, and a clown; how generous of the U.E.O. to send a circus."

Hudson looked at his company, "This is Loper."

He stepped towards her until the nearest guard stopped him with his weapon.

"Get that out of my face, soldier." He said, in a firm voice.

"What are you doing here, Oliver? This is Admiral Van Alden's command." Loper asked quietly.

He replied, "Not anymore, Commander. You are relieved."

He looked at her guards and said in a stern voice, "Give your weapons to the Lieutenant."

Then Hudson yelled at the surrounding workers, "The rest of you stand down and put your tools down, now!"

"The UEO doesn't exist here, Oliver." Loper interrupted.

Hudson stepped forward in challenge, "It does now."

He was interrupted once again, but this time with a strike to his abdomen by a nearby soldier using his weapon, making him bend forward in pain.

Liza gasped in surprise and worry as she saw her captain being struck, when she felt two soldiers grabbing her by her shoulders, so that she could not resist or get rid of them. She looked at Dagwood and saw him hitting the guard that had hit Hudson, while Hudson himself had been captured by two other guards and she heard him yell, "Dagwood, no!"

With terrified eyes she saw the guards capturing the three of them and she heard Loper saying, "Take the two of them away, and the Dagger comes with me."

Liza looked around the cell that she and Hudson were locked in and checked some of the machines and control panels around them in desperation, and then she looked at Hudson, who sat on one of the machines holding his lower chest in discomfort.

She stepped towards him and knelt down in front of him and asked in a worried tone, "Are you okay, Captain?"

He nodded, "I think it's just a contusion to lower ribs. I am fine Lieutenant."

She glanced at him then asked curiously, "Excuse me, sir, if I'm allowed to ask, do you know Commander Pamela Loper, personally? It seemed to me, by the way she spoke to you, that she knows you very well."

He sighed and answered slowly, "Admiral Van Alden was my former commanding officer, Liza."

She opened her eyes in shock and listened as he continued, "He taught me everything I know. I disobeyed an order and I was replaced by Pamela Loper."

"Oh. Well actually I am glad you did, sir."

He smiled at her and stood up to look around the room and asked her for her assessment, "Now, do you have any idea regarding our situation?"

She headed to a nearby control panel and worked on it with a small screw driver from one of her boots, until the panel was removed from it and answered, "If we reverse the polarity in this recharging unit, maybe we will be able to send a plasma energy pulse back through the power conduit, knocking out the entire grid… Now, just if we don't get killed while doing it."

"We will be dead in 12 hours anyway, if we don't take the chances." He replied, seeming stressed

She answered firmly, "Yes, sir!"

They were interrupted by a soldier opening their cell door and pulled Hudson away by his arm and said, "Admiral Van Alden wants to see you."

He took Hudson out of the cell, leaving Stallone alone among her trials.

"You came to kill me, Hudson?" Admiral van Alden asked, as he looks at Oliver, who was sitting on the floor with his arms stretched over head with his hands cuffed to wall.

Hudson replied. "No, Admiral, I came to relieve you."

Van Alden laughed in sarcasm and said, "Do you think that those people that you saw fighting in the arena will obey you, even if you killed me?"

Hudson looked disgusted and replied, "You are getting insane here Van Alden."

Pamela suddenly walked into the room with Liza, closely followed by a couple of soldiers.

"She messed with the main recharging unit." Pamela muttered, sounding angry.

Van Alden looked at Liza in surprise then back at Hudson who smiled in confidence. Which seemed to enrage Van Alden, "Weak but invented, I'll give you that… You think that you can disable missiles and prevent me from launching?!"

Hudson nodded, "That was the idea."

Van Alden quickly went from being calm, to being in extreme rage, "And once again you disobeyed me. Some people never learn!"

Liza looked at her captain expectantly then back to the admiral, worried about what this would lead to. Pamela finally spoke, interrupting her thoughts, "The missile system is an independent program."

Van Alden smiled in gloating; "Now I'm going to destroy SeaQuest, Nexus and Honolulu."

Hudson pursed his lips and commented while looking at Pamela, "Guess your daughter is going to miss Christmas this year."

Then he looked back at the admiral and continued in a firm voice, "It's easy to push the button and send others off to die, but I don't see you fighting. Let's settle this your way, you and me, fighting in your arena." He said in challenge.

Liza glanced at him and listened to van Alden, "Leaders only fight when their best worriers have failed."

Pamela smiled confidently at Hudson and said, "This has been a long time coming, Oliver."

Liza sat down in front of Oliver after the Admiral had left with his company and said, "You are going to fight her, sir!?" she asked, in disbelief.

He looked back at her, "Do I have any other choice lieutenant?"

"But why, why did you invite him for a fight? You shouldn't have done this."

He opened his eyes widely before he answered, "I am trying to waste time, Liza, for SeaQuest and for you."

She looked at him sadly then said, "Speaking of time, we only have 8 hours left before SeaQuest hits us."

He nodded and smiled at her, "You have done a good job."

"It didn't work anyway." She said pursing her lips and sounded defeated.

"Did they hurt you?" he asked, in concern.

She smiled sadly at him and shook her head 'no' then she raised her hand to hold his sweaty arm that was still stretched over his head, and in handcuffs, "Did they hurt you?"

He returned her smile and replied, "Nothing serious."

She looked down for a moment before she looked back into his eyes and asked, "What about Dagwood? Do you know where he is?"

He nodded, "They were making him fight one of their captives. But he is okay."

She commented, "For now."

Hudson walked into the arena and took off his blue button-up shirt and gave it to Liza, who clasped it firmly and looked at him in extreme worry, but he smiled at her in assurance, and took the laser stick that he was given to fight Loper with, who was holding one as well, and moving towards him as if daring him to strike her first, "This is insane, Commander, you can stop this war." He yelled

She struck at him with her stick, but he managed to block her strike with his own stick.

"Is this the kind of world you want your daughter to grow in?" he continued. "Is it!?"

She tried to hit him again, but he hit her first and kicked her stick away towards the side.

She stared at him as he threw his stick down and turned to leave the arena, before she kicked him strongly in his side, strong enough to make him bend down and drop to his knees, which made Liza is scream in panic.

She kicked him again in his face, but this time he pulled her leg to make her fall to the ground, he stood up and got the stick that he had thrown down, to put it under her chin.

Van Alden who was watching in silence, turned into worry, while Pamela looked at Hudson with dread.

"Frightened, huh?" He asked. "That's good, it means you value life."

He left her on ground and stood up holding his side to face Van Alden, "You have lost humanity, and we refuse to be part of this madness." He walked towards Liza before he heard Van Alden shouting at his guards, "Very well. Execute them!"

Hudson sat on the floor of an empty room that he had been locked in with Liza and Dagwood. Dagwood sat silently by himself, looking at the ground sadly, Hudson looked up at Dagwood and asked with care, "Are you okay, Dagwood?"

He answered as he kept looking towards the ground, "Yes, sir, I'm fine, thank you." Then he raised his head to look at his captain with watery eyes, "I almost killed a man, Captain."

Hudson replied, "You had to, otherwise he would have killed you, Dagwood. It was self-defense, this is not you, I know that very well."

They sat in silence once again before he looked at Liza. She was sitting in the corner with her legs held tightly to her chest with her arms, and had her face buried between her knees.

He called out her name, but she didn't respond; so he stood up and walked towards her, to come and sit next to her and placed his hand lightly on her shoulder.

He said her name once again in sympathy. She raised her head and looked at him with empty eyes that made him ask her anxiously, "Are you all right, Liza?"

She nodded and replied huskily, "Yes."

He looked into her eyes which began to get watery and patted her shoulder slowly; so she shifted around some, so that she could lean against his side, "I am scared." she whispered to him.

He raised an eyebrow before he breathed in deeply and put an arm around her, "I understand. I am sorry that O'Neil is not here with you in such a situation. But at least he still has a chance to survive."

She looked at him with astonishment and asked him with a lack of understanding, forgetting her panic, "O'Neil! What are you talking about, sir?"

He answered quietly, "I know you two are... _close_."

She shook her head strongly, "No captain, you misunderstand. Tim and I are friends, maybe best friends, but not the kind of close that you are thinking about ... We are just friends."

He nodded in perception, "I see and... Sorry for the misunderstanding, I saw you hanging out with him many times, and I felt there was some kind of... Chemistry between the two of you."

She nodded, "Yeah, friendship chemistry, nothing more."

He smiled with pursed lips, "I guess that won't change our situation here." He said, taking her head with hand and gently made her rest it on his shoulder and murmured, "I am sorry for you, Liza."

Loper suddenly broke into the room, with urgency, wielding a big laser gun in her hand, "Hudson, you have to go!"

Hudson glanced over at her and asked, "Saving us for yourself?!"

She yelled at him, "No time to argue, go now!"

"We came here to disable these missiles, Pamela." He told her.

She stared back at him and replied, "I already have, Captain."

He looked amazed and asked, "What changed your mind?"

She replied sadly, "My daughter, if I had won, I realized that there would be no world for her to live in. And I don't want that."

"Come with us." he said

"It's too late for me and for all of us here... I have reprogrammed the missiles; the whole base will explode in five min. You don't have time, go now." She said, handing him her gun.

He looked at here thankfully and took the gun, then pulled Liza and Dagwood out of the room on their way to their shuttle to go back home.

On SeaQuest, Oliver sat in big arm chair in his quarters reading, when he heard someone knocking on the door, "It's open."

Liza opened the door and got inside with a smile, "I came to thank you, sir."

He returned the smile and asked, "For what, Lieutenant?"

"For being so sympathetic and kind to me when we were at the Mariana Base." She answered.

He closed the book and got up to walk over to her and replied, "It's okay, Lieutenant, you are my soldier, l must take care of you, I'm responsible for you. Besides you did very well there."

"Thank you, sir. But I should have been stronger than that." She said.

He projected, "No, Liza, you didn't. You are a science officer; you are not supposed to face such situations. Be Easier on yourself Lieutenant."

He handed her the book that he had been reading, "Here, read this, I think you will like it."

She smiled and took it, "Yes, sir."

He smiled, "Dismissed."


	3. chapter 3

**An opponent **

"That was very generous of Captain Hudson to give us all that shore leave." Piccolo said to O'Neil as they were preparing to leave SeaQuest, "I think I am beginning to like him."

O'Neil side glanced at Liza and said, "I think you are not the only one who is starting to like him here, Tony."

Liza didn't really hear him; she was watching Hudson who was standing a few meters away with Ford and a brunette in her late 30's wearing a blue navy uniform. "Who is our guest?" She asked Tim.

"Constable Elaine Morse." He said holding his eye glasses, "Chief Constable of Perseid mining colony."

Lucas smiled, "That makes us her guests." The three men smiled and moved to leave, while Liza stayed in place staring at Hudson and how he was looking at the constable. She had a strange feeling eating away at her gut but she didn't know what it was, or she didn't want to know.

A couple of days later, in the food court, Liza sat with Lucas and Ford at the same table to have lunch together. Lucas was saying, "Commander, you mean the haulers disappeared without a trace!?"

Ford nodded, "Yes, and we are here to guard and defend ships."

"What about Constable Morse?" Liza asked, in a voice that she worked hard at, to make it sound hushed.

"She is the Chief Security Constable of the colony." Ford answered.

Lucas interrupted by standing up when he saw Dagwood coming into the Food Court, "Excuse me, I need to talk to Dagwood."

Liza looked at her plate and moved the food around with her fork without really eating anything, "It seemed to me that Captain Hudson had met her before."

Ford sighed, "Liza it's personal, I'm not supposed to talk about that."

Liza asked in amazement, "Personal?! You mean him and Morse have..."

"Had ... I think." Ford interrupted.

She pressed him further, "Come on Jonathan, talk to me."

He laughed, "I have never known you to be that curious… they have a history, he was going to marry her."

She looked at him in shock, before Lucas came back to join them at the lunch table, "So how long are we staying here, Commander?" Lucas asked.

"It has been three weeks without any attacks or mysterious disappearances of any more of the haulers." Hudson said, with his hands on his hips facing Morse, Stallone, Ford, and Wolenczack in the Ward Room.

"The pirates probably moved on." Ford commented.

"We need SeaQuest leading convoys." Morse said, sounding tense.

Hudson raised an eyebrow, "What? Forever!" he asked, sounding amazed. But he continued, as he crossed his arms in front of his chest, "SeaQuest is nothing more than a bandage here, it's not a cure."

Morse seemed to be aggravated by Hudson's statement and yelled at him, "So what!? You are going to shrug your shoulders and just leave! Then again, that's your style."

Hudson raised his eyebrows again, this time in shock and it seemed as if Liza and Lucas were too.

Liza felt suffocated when she heard Morse yell at him, and seeing how Hudson had reacted to her hostility, until she heard Lucas make a noise that suggested that he wanted to speak his piece.

Hudson turned to him, noticing how Liza's face had grown so pale and then asked Lucas, "You have something to say, Ensign?"

"Sir, if the pirates want a setting duck, then we should give them one." Lucas suggested.

Lucas had just finished his work on the bait hauler, when Liza asked him with a worried tone to her voice, "Are you sure it's going to work?"

He answered, "There's nothing to worry about, there are three isotopes that we can track and they are radioactive, they can be seen from here on SeaQuest."

Morse interrupted the two as she approached, "You've got to be right… If I disappear, everything goes to my cabin."

Liza asked grudgingly, "Has the captain approved this?"

Morse stopped to face her with challenge written on her face, "He is your captain, not mine. I have approved of that."

The three of them suddenly heard Hudson's hard voice, "Well, because I am going too."

Liza turned to him in amazement, "That's my hauler, the only way it's leaving here, is with me on it." Morse said, stalking off towards the exit.

Liza asked Hudson, in a voice so that no one else could hear, "You are going with her, sir?"

He smiled at her, "Easy Stallone, she isn't going to bite me."

Liza stood there watching Hudson as he was leaving... with Morse.

On the Bridge, Ford sat in the captain's chair, keeping track of the hauler with his crew.

"They stopped. Something is wrong." O'Neil said, sounding worried.

A moment later he continued, "I lost them, sir."

Liza became terrified when she heard Tim say those words. It wasn't her shift, but she wanted to be on the Bridge to get updates about her captain.

"Lucas?" Ford turned, to the young blonde to see if he had an answer for what had just happened.

"They are gone… they just disappeared. The sensors can't read anything, even the isotopes." Lucas said, sounding confused.

The crew on the Bridge became worried when they heard those words from Lucas. Tim looked at Liza with sorrow in his eyes, when he saw the terrified look in her eyes. She couldn't see Tim, she actually couldn't see anyone. The only thing that Liza could see was Hudson's last smile that he had given her as he was leaving SeaQuest, for what could have been the last time. She felt her heart breaking, as she imagined that she wouldn't get to see his rare smile again.

In her room, Liza was setting on the edge of her bed crying silently to herself thinking of him.

He was so kind to her these past few months. He wasn't really as bad as he had seemed on his first few days on SeaQuest. He cared about all of them. He's sincere. She couldn't imagine working with any other captain, or even just staying on SeaQuest for one more moment without him. That can't just be the end. She was just getting started to... feel somehow connected to him. Until that Elaine showed up, that is. Damn it, she had ruined her life since the first moment that she had showed up on SeaQuest. But she wouldn't allow it; she won't let him go that easily. He deserves to be fought for! Liza got up off of the bed and threw her door open and started running towards the bridge. Once she had arrived, she saw Lucas working at his console, "Setting sensors to adapt to various water temperatures." She heard him say as she entered the room.

"How could that help?" Ford asked.

"The displacement of a moving vessel causes the surrounding water to heat up." Lucas replied, with a smile on his face, and looked up to Ford, "I got them!" He said, sounding victorious.

The pressure on the Bridge was suddenly relieved by those words and the crew became hopeful.

"Let's bring our Captain back." Ford said, as he sat back down in his chair in relief.

On the pirate's submarine, where Hudson's hauler had been captured, Hudson stood next to Morse, who had her arms crossed while facing their capturer.

"Dustin Thaw. I must have thought Deon was behind all of this." Hudson said.

"So smart Captain, Isn't it? You could never figure it out." Thaw replied, but he was interrupted by his sonar officer, "Sir, SeaQuest is approaching fast."

Thaw smiled confidently, "They will never know you are here, Hudson."

Hudson suddenly hit the guard next to him in the face and Morse followed his lead and did the same to the guard next to her, so that both of the guards fell to the ground. Both Hudson and Morse took the weapons from the guards and pointed them at Thaw and his officer, who had started speaking with fear in his voice, "SeaQuest fired! Two incoming torpedoes, Impact in 10 seconds!" Hudson moved towards him quickly while Morse kept her gun aimed towards the others, "Open the channel… Open it!"

The man connected him to SeaQuest, "SeaQuest, this is Captain Hudson, confirmation code 3delta06, hold your fire." Hudson called.

Then Fords voice could be heard in reply, "Confirmed. Roger, Wilco."

A couple of seconds later, they felt the boat shaking after the torpedoes had exploded meters away from them.

"Commander Ford, send us our people to put this crew in custody." Hudson said looking at Morse with a smile.

In his quarters, Hudson shut off the vidlink and turned to Morse, who looked at him with a challenging smile. "You are stubborn Elaine."

She caressed his navy shirt button unfastening it, "And this is why you loved me."

He projected a grin and replied, "This is why I couldn't live with you."

They heard knocking at the door, "It's open." Hudson said.

Liza entered with a big smile on her face but it quickly turned into a masked face, when she saw Elaine's hand on Hudson's chest, "Sorry, I didn't know that you were... not alone."

Morse put her hand down easily, while Oliver replied quickly, "It's okay, Lieutenant, Constable Morse was just going to leave."

Elaine raised an eye brow for a second, then kissed him lightly on his cheek, "See you Oliver." She said, before leaving the room.

Hudson looked embarrassed when he saw Liza's face turning red out of rage, as she followed Morse with her eyes, then she turned to change her expression to look at his face and then the unfastened button.

He fastened his button back and asked, "How can I help you, Lieutenant?"

She gave him the book that she had been clutching in her hand from the moment that she had come into his quarters, "I came to give you your book... Sir."

"Did you like it?" Hudson asked.

She didn't answer, so he asked her, "Come on Liza, what is that all about?"

She sighed and whispered to him, "I came to say welcome back; I am glad that you got back safe, Captain."

He cheered up and said, "Thank you, Lieutenant; this is so sweet of you. But you really didn't need the book trick to come to my quarters. You liked it?"

"Did you mean the Book, or your quarters, sir?" She asked, smiling.


	4. chapter 4

Captain Hudson rushed in to the bridge asking Commander Ford, who was in command, "What happened? Where is she?"

Ford rose in disappointment, "We lost her, she went to rescue children after Macronesian vessels attacked them. She was attacked after she has rescued them, I've lost contact with her just before she disappeared."

Hudson raised his eye brows and had a deep breath.

"Secretary General McGath, sir." O'Neil chimed in.

"Put him through on a secure channel." Hudson answered.

"Captain, you're invading Macronesian territory!" McGath said, sounding urgent.

"Last time I heard, this territory belonged to the UEO, sir." Hudson replied in a fierce tone.

"Captain, I am not calling to argue."

Hudson interrupted him, starting to lose his nerves, "I am trying to retrieve my officer, sir. I want to go there and grab Stallone before they concentrate their forces." Then he firmly added, "Sir, let me do it."

"You don't need to, Captain." McGath replied quietly.

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Hudson asked, narrowing his eyes.

"I've just received a communique, over the hot line."

"Lieutenant Stallone has already been captured by Macronesian forces inside their claimed territory, 10 minutes ago; they have already transported her out the area."

All of the crew on bridge became tense at those words, as did Hudson who opened his eyes widely, before looking towards Commander Ford, with growing anxiety, "Commander, be ready to jump jet, I need to be in Cape Quest in less than two hours." He said, while turning to leave the bridge but was suddenly stopped when he heard McGath, "No need to bother Captain, we are taking an observer team to the Macronesian Fortress."

He turned to him seemingly shocked and asked, "An observer team, sir!?"

"Yes, trying to negotiate for her release." McGath answered.

Hudson repeated angrily, "Negotiate!?"

"Sure, the UEO isn't going to get into a war for an officer, Captain." McGath replied.

"An officer, sir?!" Hudson yelled, not believing what he had just heard McGath say, "How many officers do you need?"

This time McGath interrupted, "It's a diplomatic decision, Captain, not mine. Out." McGath finished, and Shut off the vidlink.

Hudson looked towards Ford once again, exhaling with rage and left the Bridge feeling nervous.

In the Ward Room, Hudson sat with the Secretary General and Vocar, the chief leader of Spindrift, the colony to which the children belonged to.

"You think that we can reason with a man like Bourne, sir?" Hudson wondered.

McGath asked, "You have any suggestions?"

"They must bring back Lieutenant Stallone and the children." He replied, firmly.

"And if they refuse? We get into a war!" McGath said.

"We are going to fight him eventually." Hudson replied.

"May be, maybe not. But this one, we will win through diplomacy." McGath said, quietly.

"I doubt that very much, sir." Hudson commented.

Vocar replied, "These children belong to my colony, they are like my children now, after their parent were murdered. I won't let him hurt them."

"I believe in diplomacy gentlemen, it saves lives." McGath said, reassuringly.

In the Macronesian Alliance Fortress, Hudson sat with Vocar, McGath and Bourne who was saying, "Your lieutenant invaded our waters, to escape with our children."

"They are our children." Vocar objected.

Hudson interrupted, "They were in danger, and she was trying to transfer them into safety."

"She didn't have the consent of their parents." Bourne retorted.

"Yeah, because they were already killed by your soldiers." Hudson replied.

"Still this is a violation of the Code of Justice, section 202. She is accused of breaking our laws, she deserves a public trial." Bourne continued, as if he did not hear what Hudson had said, provoking him to respond with rage.

"And you are going to make sure it is as public as possible in attempt to humiliate the UEO, right?"

McGath interrupted Hudson to silence him, "Captain!" Then he smiled at Bourne, "Captain Hudson is concerned about the welfare of his crew member, as well as the UEO."

Bourne nodded, "So is the Macronesian Alliance, but it's about the laws and the pride of the Alliance."

"No one is suggesting you act in contravention with Macronesian laws." McGath agreed.

"So you are hoping for a fair and speedy trial?" Bourne asked; while Hudson sighed with extreme rage that kept building every time Bourne spoke.

"I hope that even in the Macronesian law, she isn't found guilty in your fair trial." McGath answered. "And as a gift of friendship, a cargo of Vanadium will be here tomorrow by noon." Hudson became shocked, but swallowed it as he heard Bourne speak.

"In this case, I will release the children captured by your Lieutenant Stallone."

"What about my lieutenant?" Hudson firmly asked.

"Of course the trial can't be cancelled, but no one will find her guilty of kidnapping. We will hold the trial right after the Vanadium arrives." Bourne answered.

"Well that's assuming of course, that meanwhile, you will be my honored guests." He continued, as he left towards the exit.

"You only have two minutes." The Macronesian soldier who was guarding the unit, where Liza was being kept, said to Hudson as he opened the door to let him in.

Hudson stepped in calmly and stood still, until the door was closed again. He looked at Liza who sat on the bed inside her cell, burying her face in her hands and approached slowly, "Liza."

She raised her head quickly not believing that it was his voice, "Captain!" she rose from the bed and rushed towards him to hold onto the cell bars between them, while looking at him with extreme joy on her face, happy to see a very familiar face.

He grinned at her passionately and asked, "How are you doing, Liza?"

She scanned his face with her eyes and whispered, "I'm so glad to see you."

He caught her hands around the bars strongly, "I know that you are scared, but I am going to get you out of here very soon."

She smiled at him, "I am counting on it." She sighed sadly, "I am sorry to put you in such jeopardy, sir."

He rubbed the back of her hand gently and said, "It's okay Liza, I know that you have never wanted that." Hudson continued, "McGath made a deal with Bourne, you are going to stand for a trial tomorrow, but you will be found not guilty."

"What about the children?" she asked, sounding concerned.

"They have already been released." He replied.

She looked into his eyes for a moment, before saying, "I met Bourne, he tried to scare me and get information from me."

Hudson nodded, "He would do more than that." Then he looked at her and asked with concern, "Did he hurt you?"

"His guards beat me up, because I tried to beat them up." She answered.

He glanced at her for a moment before saying, "Look, we don't have much time, do you need anything? I am not leaving here until the trial."

She shook her head in a sad no.

"Take it easy. Ok?" she didn't answer, so his eyes became filled with worry so he asked, "Are you really ok?"

Tears filled her eyes as she answered, "I will be ok, when you take me back home."

They heard the door open, so he looked at her for a second longer before he nodded and left.

On the trial, Stallone stood cuffed in front of the judge, while Hudson, McGath, and Bourne stood amongst the audience, listening to the judge as he was saying, "Based on the statement of the defendant and children found in her company, and in absence of any further evidences, the court has only one conclusion."

"The Court finds the defendant not guilty with the crime of kidnapping." The crowd roared with disapproval as the Judge paused for a moment, before he continued, "But to honor her, is not to excuse her."

"As they were violating our laws, and as she couldn't transfer them immediately to law enforcement authority, the defendant is considered a participant to their crime."

Hudson began to feel tense once again, especially after the judge continued on, "Accordingly, and with deep regret... we find her guilty, with the high felony of smuggling."

Hudson opened his eyes becoming terrified when he heard the judge's words, "We impose the only judgment our laws allow, a sentence of death." He finished.

All of the audience yelled with approval and applauded as Hudson looked over at Bourne with rage, who stood quietly smiling to himself as McGath shouted at him, "I thought we had a deal!"

Bourne shrugged his shoulders, "And I honored her."

"Order!" the Judge said, "Sentence of death will be carried out tomorrow, at noon."

Hudson left the room with rage still building inside that blurred his vision as he walked away; it further became fueled when he heard Liza screams, "Captain!"

"Sir, you leave me no choice." Hudson said to McGath through the vidlink, inside the Ward Room, where he was meeting with his crew, as well as Vocar. He continued in a cold firm voice, "I'll sign out on leave, to rescue my officer. If you don't permit that, I will resign my command."

McGath sighed, "I know I can't stop you, Oliver. I wish to hell I could, because I don't think that there is a thing that you can do. Out."

McGath signed off as Hudson turned to face his crew, "I don't have answers for all of you; I only have an answer for myself." Hudson said, removing his UEO patch from his uniform sleeve and placed it onto the table, and then he continued, "I have to attempt this rescue."

Brody followed Hudson's lead and took his patch off as well, "I am going with you, Captain."

Then Piccolo, O'Neil, and Lucas followed too.

Hudson objected Lucas' patch and returned it to him, "Wolenczack, I need you here, on SeaQuest, with Mr. Ford." Hudson turned to look at Vocar, who put a black case on table.

"This is a gift from my colony, for the return of our children." He said opening the case, showing the disentangled weapon parts inside the case.

"They're also going to give us the use of an assault vessel, to take us to the Macronesian Fortress." Hudson commented.

"We will disguise ourselves as Spindrift merchants, going there to sell our goods. We launch in two hours."

"But how do we get out of there?" Piccolo asked.

Vocar smiled and replied, "Don't worry; we have a lot of friends there. We are going to take plenty of presents for them with us."

In her cell Liza heard the door open quietly as Bourne came into the room to say, "You have a very brave captain, Lieutenant."

She rose up from her bed to stand on her feet to face him, "You have come to gloat!"

He smiled, "I've come to save you myself."

"Really!? For what?" She asked, with a hint of sarcasm in her voice.

He walked around her and held her shoulders from behind, "I want you to share my life for a while."

She stiffed as he said that, which made him rub her neck and shoulders seductively, "You would then realize the petty weaknesses of the UEO, indulge in my pleasures and the security of my powers."

She pulled away from him, "I haven't forgotten my sense of shame."

He approached her again, "Shame is weakness, Liz. It scares only teenage boys here."

He hugged her suddenly trying to kiss her as he continued, "Let me show you how to ignore it."

She violently pushed him away, causing him to fall against her cell bars, "My god! You are a devil. You make me sick." she said sounding disgusted, "Go to hell!"

He looked at her with extreme rage building inside, before he turned and left the cell angrily. Leaving Liza to break down on her bed, crying.

Aboard their launch, Hudson and his company wore the Spindrift Folk dress, masking their faces with scarves of the same color and got ready to anchor at the Macronesian Fortress, where guards stood to fetch the arrivals.

They put their bags on the stand next to one of the guards, after Vocar had nodded to another guard standing a few meters away, who in turn nodded to the guard that they stood next to, "What's in the bags?" he asked as he put one of his hands into a bag and brought it back out holding a bottle; he quickly hid it and allowed them to pass.

After they went through the checkpoint, they sat in a dark corner to reconnect their weapons, before they headed to the execution room.

There, Liza was driven in by the Macronesian guards, to stand in front of the judge. She tried to resist them by pulling away before she recognized Hudson, even though he was masked, as he was coming into the execution room. Bourne who was standing amongst the audience took notice of the look on her face and turned to look in the same direction as her. "Hudson, he is there!" He shouted, as he pointed at Hudson.

Hudson yelled at his crew, "Fire!" he started firing his gun at one of the soldiers, who had grabbed Stallone, who pulled her arms away from the other guard and hit him in the face with her cuffed hands. Hudson finally reached her, firing at her cuffs to free her hands.

In the meantime, Vocar along with the others were shooting the other guards scattered all over the room, until Hudson managed to get Liza out of the room, so they covered him until he was out and then they all pulled out of the room, not to far behind Hudson and sealed the door.

"Everybody back to the launch... pull back!" Hudson shouted, so they ran back to the hatch, firing at the guards who had appeared from the other side. They reached the hatch to their launch and O'Neil quickly opened it, then they went through it, before they heard Liza's screaming. Hudson looked at her becoming terrified as he saw her bleeding, after being shot by a Macronesian guard. Hudson held onto her in case she fell down and then quickly passed her through the hatch, and then he shouted, "Seal the hatch."

He put Liza down onto the floor, as everyone else got into place to get them out of there. "Somebody give me medical supplies." He yelled at them, while he rested her head against the floor, then unzipped her uniform to check her injury.

"Launching." Vocar said, as Hudson took the first aid kit from Piccolo, who sat next to him helping in the best way that he could.

She cried in pain as he put the dressing on her wound on her abdomen, "Hold on Liza, you are going to be fine." He said, trying to comfort her.

She clenched her hand tightly on his back, when their shuttle shook violently.

"They are attacking us!" O'Neil said, sounding terrified.

Hudson and Tony rose up carrying Liza, and Hudson shouted, "Come on everybody, into the launch tail. Let's move it!"

Everyone quickly obeyed, before they became disconnected from the main vessel.

"Launching!" Brody said, as the vessel under the attack of the Macronesian missiles exploded but they had escaped. "We are clear." He continued.

Hudson sighed in relief, while wiping Liza's tears off of her cheek, "Lieutenant, take us home."

On SeaQuest, Hudson stood in the Med bay with Dr. Perry, who was saying, "She was lucky, the laser beam hit millimeters away from her liver. It didn't affect any vital organs or main arteries. She can be back to work in a few days, after the wound completely heals."

He smiled at her nodding, "Thank you, Doctor."

Doctor Perry left, while Hudson approached Liza's bed where Liza laid there sleeping. He studied her peaceful face for a moment, before he took his hand and moved a tress of hair away from her forehead carefully.

She opened her eyes slowly and glanced at him for a moment before she smiled and whispered, "Captain."

He returned her smile, "Hey Liza, welcome back home. How are you feeling?"

She replied calmly, "Thank you captain, I feel so sleepy."

He grinned, "This must be because of sedatives. Dr. Perry told me that your injury wasn't serious, and that you are going to be well soon."

She held his hand passionately, "How can I thank you, Captain?"

He raised his hand to hold her hand and gently kissed her palm, "I wouldn't let them hurt you Liza. You just get well soon, Lieutenant."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Liza looked at Tony, Lucas, and Tim with amazement, "Guys, you must be kidding, you want me to spend my shore leave in a strip club at Deon International Trade Center, wearing the UEO uniform? Come on, Hudson will kill me for this." She continued, shaking her head.

O'Neil tugged at her arm, "Come on Liza, Hudson won't know; besides you are not stripping in there."

"Also, you are not alone." Lucas assured.

She had to follow them as she had no other plans. They went into the club and sat around a table before she asked, "None of you would say anything about this, right?"

They all nodded and Tony assured, "Definitely."

But she couldn't stop thinking of Hudson, "How would Hudson react about this? If he knew that she had gone with O'Neil and the others to such a club, what would he think of her?"

She looked around the room at the girls who were stripping and then back to her friend's faces before she suddenly got up.

"Where are you going?" Lucas asked.

"To ladies room." She replied, as she walked away toward the back of the club.

In the ladies room, she washed her face and then looked at herself the mirror, before wiping her face off and leaving, noticing an exit sign on a back door in the corner. Liza hesitated before she went through it, she was so consumed in her own thoughts that she didn't notice the few steps below her feet, so she slipped down them and hit her head, knocking herself unconscious.

Liza suddenly opened her eyes to see a man leaning over her caressing her uniform buttons. She looked at him alarmed, pulling away from him, "Who the hell are you? What are you doing to me?" She asked the man, while fastening the couple of buttons that had be unfastened and were exposing her skin.

He pulled back, "Easy miss, I was just trying to help. I work here; I found you this way and tried to help... I did nothing I swear… I didn't mean to scare you."

She got up slowly and dusted off her clothes. He had looked sincere so she thanked him before she headed back inside to her friends.

"Liza, where have you been? We were worried about you." Tony asked her once he saw her.

Tim spoke slowly, "Jesus, you look like hell!"

She adjusted her uniform looking confused and asked, "How long have I been away?"

Lucas answered wonderingly, "More than 20 minutes. We thought you left. Are you okay?"

She glanced at Lucas for a moment before answering, "Yeah, I'm fine."

In his quarters, Hudson stood facing McGath on the vidlink, "And SeaQuest is supposed to transfer these refugees to the UEO, sir!?"

McGath answered, "Yes Captain, Constable Morse will bring them to SeaQuest in a while."

"Constable Morse! Why doesn't she bring them to you then sir? Why SeaQuest?"

McGath sighed, "It's not her business Captain, you know that. Only coincidence made her meet them. She didn't have to offer her help."

"Yes sir." Hudson submitted.

"What about the documents that I sent you an hour ago?" McGath asked, with concern in his voice.

Hudson raised an eyebrow before exhaling strongly, "I'm on it, sir."

"Did you investigate it?" McGath asked once again.

Hudson replied with seemingly no patience, "Sir, I will inform you the results when I'm done."

"If you feel awkward about it, you may send her here so we can do it; I know this is difficult for you. I preferred that you knew about all circumstances first, before the UEO handles it." McGath objected.

Hudson interrupted nervously, "She's my lieutenant sir, I will deal with it in my own way, out." He finished, shutting the vidlink off.

A few minutes later Liza was standing in front of him, saluting him while he was sitting behind the desk in his quarters.

"Sit down, lieutenant." He said with a cold yet firm voice that made her respond automatically, "Something wrong, Captain?" she asked, worriedly.

He stood up to face her, crossing his arms over his chest, "How was your last shore leave, Lieutenant?"

She swallowed before replying carefully, "Fine, sir."

He leaned forward to rest his hands on the desk, and then asked her with a dark face, "Where did you spend it?"

She felt suffocated as she answered with a husky voice, "I hung out with Tony, Lucas, and Tim."

"This is not an answer to my question Lieutenant Stallone." He said in a harsh voice that froze her blood, so she answered involuntarily, "We went to a stripping club, sir."

His eyes became narrow as he asked, "And what happened there?"

She rose up answering quickly, "Nothing happened, sir"

He gave her an envelope and shouted, "Then, what the hell is that!?"

She looked at him in bewilderment, before she took the envelope and opened it. She opened her eyes with shock, looking at the photos within, "Oh, my god!"

She shook her head violently and threw the photos onto the desk seemingly afraid, "Captain, I didn't do this."

"Then who the hell is that in the photos?" He asked, angrily.

She answered with tearful eyes, "I don't know, but it's not me."

He sat down seeming confused, "A stripping club Liza! How do you expect me to save you this time, with this strong of evidence?" he pursed his lips in pain and continued, "This was very irresponsible of you Lieutenant."

"I am really sorry Captain, but I swear, I didn't do this, I never took these shots. I've never even met that guy before. I swear." She cried.

He looked at the photos, before he looked back to her, "It's you Liza… naked… with a guy, who looks Italian too. Your face… your hair… you can't deny it... You are jeopardizing me here, Stallone. McGath wants an investigation about all of this."

"Sir, I didn't." She tried to deny it once more, but he interrupted, "I've talked to O'Neil and Lucas."

"And they said that I was with them, right?" She said, quickly.

He rose up to approach her once again and answered between his gritted teeth, "They said that you left them for almost half-an-hour, Lieutenant." Her face grew red, as she heard him say those words, "They said that when you came back to them, you were a mess!" He put his hands on his hips and asked her as his eyes grew narrow, "What would you say about it this time, Lieutenant?"

"I passed out." She answered, growing more confused by the second.

He glanced at her, so she continued, "I went to ladies room, then I went out through the back door intending to leave, then I slipped on some steps and I hit my head and pass out." Hudson was staring at her in disbelief now and Liza continued, "And when I woke up... Wait a minute." She stopped in mid-sentence to think.

"I am listening, Stallone." He said impatiently.

"I don't know how long I was unconscious; the guys told me more than twenty minutes. But when I woke up there was a guy…" She continued.

"That guy in the photos?" He interrupted.

She checked photos once again; her face grew red, feeling shy before she answered in a low voice, "No."

He walked around her and said, "Well, what about that guy you saw… when you woke up?"

She breathed in, before answering, "He was messing with my uniform… my buttons, specifically." Hudson raised an eyebrow without commenting, so she went on, "I became panicked, but he told me that he didn't do anything… he only was trying to help... He left and then I went back into the room with O'Neil and the other guys."

He shook his head, "An interesting story Lieutenant, but it seems to me that you are very awake and aware of what you are doing with that guy in those photos."

Her face grew even redder than before, as her eyes became filled with tears again, she asked, "Sir, may I ask you how you got these photographs?"

"I told you, McGath sent them to me a couple of hours ago!" He replied.

"No, I mean how did the UEO get them? Who the hell gave you this envelope?" She asked, insistently.

He glanced at her, taking the envelope to check it and took out a bent up piece of paper from it, "This letter was directed to the secretary general, telling him about how sincere his officers act in their free time... It said these photos were shot in your last shore leave, giving its timing, place, company… and the name of the club that you went too with them… It has no signature. The envelope itself was found on his secretary's desk this morning. No one knows where it came from."

She starred at him and said, "Maybe it was done on purpose, those photos might be fake."

"Conspiracy theories, huh!?" He said, in wonder with a hint of sarcasm.

She pegged, "Captain, you know that I wouldn't do this... I thought that you know me better than that."

He sighed, closing his eyes, "It's not about me now Liza." He looked at her sadly, "You've made a big mistake and you are in some serious trouble this time… I can't do anything to help you."

She approached him whispering, "But you believe me, don't you?"

Before he could answer, they heard Ford's voice, "Captain Hudson, Constable Morse's launch is here, asking for permission to dock."

Hudson replied nervously, "Permission granted, both of you meet me in the Ward Room."

"Yes, sir!" Ford replied.

Hudson took the photos and handed them to Liza, "You may need to have a district look at them, to see if you can remember anything that may help… You will be suspended from duty and confined to your quarters until the end of the investigation… dismissed"

She looked at him, astonished and angry, so he raised an eyebrow, "I wasn't aware that _dismissed_ was a vague term, Lieutenant!"

She saluted him angrily, "Aye-aye, sir!" Before stalking out of the room.

Liza sat on her bed, looking through the photos scattered on her bed, crying. This was not her; she would never do anything like that. That naked girl in the photos, with a stranger, in multiple intimate positions was definitely not her. She hadn't seen him or even the room that they were in before. There must be something wrong. But who would do this to her? Why and how? The twenty minutes that she had been unconscious in the club was long enough for anyone to take her to somewhere, take her clothes off, and take photos of her in such pornographic poses, but... Hudson said it, she looked awake and her eyes were open in almost every picture, she was even smiling in some of them... "Hudson?" she thought, "He must see this as disgusting… I shouldn't have gone with them… He must hate me now, but isn't he supposed to know me better than that? He must believe me… Who said that it's not about him!? He's part of it. And now that Elaine shows up _again_… Damn it, why now?" She buried her face in her hands beginning to sob.

A few minutes later, she heard someone knocking on the door; she wiped her tears, before she got up to open the door to find Lucas on the other side. He came through and Liza closed the door without a word; so he examined her before asking, "Were you crying?"

"I am fine." She said, raising two red eyes to face him, "He knew." She replied with a husky voice.

Lucas nodded and put his hands into his pockets, before moving around in the room, "I know… He asked me, O'Neil and Tony too... So what's the big deal? I don't understand."

She nodded towards the photos that were scattered on her bed, "Those are the big deal."

In the Ward Room, Hudson was meeting with Commander Ford and Elaine Morse, who was saying, "It's always a pleasure to help the UEO, Captain, but I am afraid that you have to pay me back." He glanced at her seeming amazed by her statement. "I have a broken down engine, I need your engineers to check it before I launch and go back to my colony."

"No problem Constable, consider it done." He replied firmly.

She smiled at him, "Thank you, Oliver."

He opened the door to speak to the guard outside, "Officer Black, take the Constable to quarters 3E."

The guard saluted him, "Aye-aye, sir." She sneered at him, before she stalked off with the guard.

After she left Hudson looked over at Ford, who nodded, "I've already asked Henderson to take care of it, sir."

"Thank you, Commander. I really need her off of my boat, as soon as possible." Hudson replied.

"Yes, sir." Ford said, "What about her company, sir?"

"Keep them in the brig until we reach the UEO, with security." Hudson sighed.

"Sure, Captain." he nodded, before he asked hesitantly, "Is something wrong, sir?"

Hudson glanced at him before answering, "I hope not Commander... I hope not."

"I didn't do it, Lucas." Liza said denying the photographs.

"Of course you didn't, I know you very well sis." Lucas ensured.

Tears filled her eyes as she asked, "Then why doesn't he believe me? I thought he knew me well too, I thought that he trusted me!"

Lucas shook his head slowly, "Maybe he does, Liza. It's just...these photos…"

"…Could be fake... or Photoshopped or something." She interrupted.

He looked over to her and stared at her for a moment before saying, "We can figure it out, but who would do this and why?"

"Maybe he doesn't want to do it to me… it might be about SeaQuest or even the UEO. We have many enemies that would like to destroy the SeaQuest and her crew. Maybe this is just the beginning."

He ran his fingers through his hair, "Or maybe it's about revenge."

She became astonished, "Revenge! On me!?"

"On you, our Captain, the SeaQuest, and the UEO." He answered.

"Are you talking about Bourne?" She asked.

He smiled, "Sure. He wants revenge, after Captain Hudson deprived him of his victory of your execution and embarrassment of the UEO. But first of all, we need to be sure that these photos are in fact, fake. I'll use your scanner." He continued.

She nodded as she watched him scan the photos onto her computer and manipulated them with some programs.

It took him several minutes before he yelled, "See? We were right; this body doesn't belong to you... Look at this imaginary line between your face and neck... Do you notice the resolution and color degree on both sides of it? It's clear in all of the photos... I saved your neck this time Liz. Literally…"

"But, Captain Hudson may not believe us. He may think that we are inventing all of this… or what if he thinks that you are lying to protect me?" She said, doubtfully.

"Then he will need to send them to the central lab, in the headquarters... Cheer up Liz, we have evidence now, proving that you are innocent." Lucas said.

She smiled at him gratefully, "Thank you Lucas, you are the best."

Hudson had been sitting at his desk, in his quarters reading the letter that had been sent with the photos over and over again, before he was suddenly surprised by a man breaking into his quarters through the ceiling air duct opening and pointed a gun at him, "I've been waiting for you." Hudson said, putting the letter back into envelope.

The guy nodded towards the door, "Let's go, Captain."

Hudson rested his back against the chair and calmly asked, "Where to?"

"Let's go to the Bridge." The man said.

Hudson raised his eyebrows, "What for?"

"Take us back to Macronesia." He answered.

Hudson shook his head slowly, "I can't do this… these people are refugees, they asked for our help and they will get it."

"They are Macronesian criminals." The guy corrected.

Hudson shrugged his shoulder and grinned slyly, "I am following my orders."

This time the man replied while aiming his weapon at Hudson's head, who said, "Then again, why not!" He quickly rose up off of his chair and swiftly kicked the guy in the face and he fell to the ground, before Hudson tried to attack him again on the floor. But this time the guy threw his foot up to kick Hudson's chest. Hudson was pushed back against the wall by the force of the man's kick, giving the man some time to stand up straight and attack Hudson by punching him in the face.

Liza knocked on Hudson's door and he quickly opened the door with blood all over his face. Liza gasped in horror, "Oh my god, what happened?"

He let her into the room and she saw the guy lying on the ground, unconscious, "One of our guests tried to trade my life for delivering the others to Macronesia."

Ford quietly stepped into the room and caught the last few words of their conversation, with a couple of guards. Hudson looked at him, "Commander, here is our mercenary Mason Freeman, of Deon International… Where you spent your last interesting shore leave, Lieutenant." He continued, looking at Liza.

She kept an eye on Freeman and Commander Ford said, "Perhaps we should take him to the UEO headquarters, sir."

Hudson shook his head no, "I'll send him back to Deon International. I want Deon to know that he sent his best man... and we sent him right back."

Ford nodded towards the guards and they went over to pick Freeman up and carried him out of the room. Liza followed after them saying, "I'll bring first aid kit."

A few minutes had passed before she returned to Hudson in his quarters. She had come into the room without knocking as she had found that the door was still open and Ford had left after the guards. Hudson was wiping his face carefully, with a towel. She took it from him and said, "Sit down, Captain. I'll take care of you."

He sat down on his chair allowing her to check his wounds on his forehead and cheek, "Thank god they are superficial wounds; you don't have to go to Med-bay to have them sutured." She commented as she took a cotton swab soaked with disinfectant to wipe the wound on his forehead. He moaned in pain, so she whispered, "Sorry, it may burn a little."

He nodded, "It's okay, I'm fine."

She used a small adhesive strap to dress it, before taking care of the other wound on his cheek, doing the same thing to the other wound.

"I'm done." She said, smiling at him as she backed away from him.

Hudson returned her smile, with pain visible on his face, "Thank you, Liza."

She took a deep breath and said, "Lucas and I have checked the photos."

"And?" He asked, curiously.

"They appeared to be fake." She answered.

He repeated her, seeming to be astonished by the finding, "Appeared to be!?"

She quickly replied, "No, they are fake. We've analyzed them. I came to show you their analysis." She took the photos from the envelope and the printed photos after their analysis and handed them to him, "Here, we printed them out and the results too."

He reviewed the results a couple of times before he looked back at her, "Do you think that this is enough evidence?"

"Well, I have another strong one." She said, moving her shirt over a little to expose the side of her abdomen.

He examined her for a moment before he slowly asked, "How long have you had this skin discoloration?"

"Since birth. Is it enough?" She said easily.

He said seemingly still amazed, "I can see that it's wide enough to appear in any of the photos... It's enough for me. I'll deal with it from here."

She smiled at him gratefully, before her smile quickly turned into anger as she heard O'Neil's voice through the intercom, "Captain, Constable Morse's launch is ready, but she wants to see you before she leaves."

He sighed impatiently, "Let her come to my quarters."

He raised his head up to look into Liza's eyes, having a long silent conversation; as he noticed how her eyes became tearful. He approached her slowly, then patted her cheek gently with his hand and leaned into her, kissing her on the angle of her mouth softly, then pulled back again.

She stopped breathing for a while, before whispering, "What was that!?"

He raised an eyebrow, smiling passionately before saying, "That was... You better go before she comes... See you on bridge Liz."


	6. Chapter 6

On a UEO secured colony, Hudson stood wearing his dress uniform, holding his cap in his arm, looking around at the different faces, of the different countries around him. He saw Liza as she approached him and saluted him, "Captain."

He grinned nodding, "Lieutenant."

She leaned closer to him and whispered, "You look wonderful, sir."

He raised an eyebrow and asked, "Are you flirting me, Lieutenant Stallone?"

She shook her head, "Only if you won't consider it grade trespass, sir."

He smiled again before Commander Ford approached them, "I've just contacted Lt. Fredericks and the area appears to be secured."

Hudson nodded, "Very good, commander. Is Bourne is here yet?"

"He's anchoring in a few seconds, sir." Ford answered, and a shocked expression appeared on Liza's face.

"You didn't tell me that Bourne would be present." Liza said, with a hint of disbelief in her voice.

He looked at her in amazement and said, "Am I supposed to tell you, Lieutenant?"

She stared at him, not knowing what to say, so Ford cleared his throat before saying, "It's normal that the Macronesian president would attend the summit Liza. Signing the new UEO charter is a universal event. Bourne was asked to attend officially."

She glanced at Ford before looking back at Hudson angrily, "Sir, with all due respect, I can't stay here anymore… I need to go back to SeaQuest."

He clasped his hands behind his back before firmly saying, "This is not a picnic Lt. Stallone… You are here on a mission, to secure the summit... Now, dismissed."

With her growing irritation, Liza looked at him angrily before saluting him, "Yes, sir."

During the opening session, Hudson stood watching the ambassadors from several countries while holding his V-Pal in his hand, "Mr. Ford, the session is ending."

"Captain, everything is okay. I've just received the confirmation from Fredericks. Stallone and Brody will secure the wardrooms that the guests will be staying in, before they launch, if they need to." Ford answered.

Shortly after the summit, Bourne left with his guards, as well as all of the other UEO guests. Hudson stood aside and watched him as he walked past him to leave. He also observed Liza going into one of the guest's wardrooms to inspect it.

Bourne had been on his way to leave, before he also noticed Liza going into one of the wardrooms, so he looked at his security chief, "I think that I'll stay here for a while, till we are ready to launch." He said, heading to the room that Liza had gone into.

"I'll wait here." His chief said.

Bourne approached a UEO security guard who was standing by the door, "Is this room is occupied?"

"No, sir. Our security officer is only checking it." The guard answered firmly.

Bourne pushed the door open, "You stay here Chief, tell me when we are ready to leave." He ordered stepping into the room.

Liza became shocked by his sudden appearance in the room, "What the hell are you doing here?"

He approached her before answering, "I thought that you were expecting me. These rooms are for the UEO guests."

She glanced at him disgustedly, before walking past him to leave the room, but he didn't allow her. He caught her arm firmly, "Come on, Liza. You know I want you."

She struggled to get rid of him, but she couldn't as he pushed her against the wall, pressing her up against it with his body. He used his right hand to touch her body passionately, while he used his left hand to cover her mouth to suppress her screams.

Liza tried to push him away once again with her hands but he was too heavy for her, so she kicked him between the legs with as much strength as she could. Bourne bent over in pain, finally letting her go, leaving Liza to run out of the room without even seeing Hudson who was only a few feet away from the doorway. He was shocked to see her like this so he called out to her, "Lieutenant... Liza!" but she didn't hear him either, as she rushed into the nearest ladies room.

Hudson broke into the room to see Bourne still leaning forward, so he walked over to him and took hold of his collar to force him to stand upright, "You son of bitch, what the hell have you done?"

Bourne's guards rushed in, "Mr. President, are you ok?" the security chief asked.

Bourne pushed Hudson's hands away from his collar and said, "Yes I am, Chief. Captain Hudson is smart enough to look after the interests of the UEO. Are we ready to go?"

"Yes, sir." The Chief answered.

Hudson interrupted him, becoming impatient, "You better stay away from my lieutenant, Bourne. Or else you will regret the day that you started the Macronesian Alliance."

Hudson left without saying another word.

In the ladies room Liza washed her face after she had stopped crying and watched her reflection in the mirror. She was so messy with her red eyes, tangled hair and non-tucked uniform.

She attempted to fix her hair the best that she could, then tucked in her uniform, and wiped her face off once more before leaving the room. This time she could see Hudson standing few meters away before he approached her, "I need to talk to you." She nodded before she followed him into an empty room.

"What the hell has happened?" Hudson ferociously yelled causing her to collapse into a nearby chair, crying hysterically.

He took a deep breath before sitting on the chair that was facing her, "Liza please stop crying… Talk to me, Liz." He said with a kind voice, so she replied with uneven tone, while she was still crying, "He sexually harassed me… He pressed me up against the wall and touched me."

Hudson slammed his fist against the table, "That son of a bitch, I should have killed him when we were getting you out of Spindrift."

She stared at him and opened her mouth to tell him about what had happened at Spindrift too, but she was interrupted by Ford's voice coming through Hudson's V-Pal, "Captain, all launches are clear, we are ready to go."

"Thank you, Mr. Ford." He replied, and then looked at her, "Listen, we are leaving now, I'll see what I can do about this."

She nodded and wiped her tears away with the side of her hand.

On SeaQuest, Hudson met with Secretary General McGath, Ford, Brody, and Stallone in the Ward Room.

"We can't accuse him of sexual harassment Captain. This will ruin our relationship with Macronesia, besides he will deny it." McGath said.

"Mr. Secretary, I was there, I saw Lt. Stallone run out of the room, after she kicked him and I saw him bent over in pain inside the room." Hudson objected.

"So, you really didn't see him touching her, meaning it would be her word against his… Besides it was only one incident." McGath replied.

Liza interrupted in a frozen voice, "Not once… That was the second time."

Hudson raised his eyebrows looking at her in astonishment, "What is that supposed to mean, Lieutenant?"

She looked down, biting her lips, "He did it once, when I was there at Macronesia, a few weeks ago."

Hudson's closed his eyes in pain, before he looked back at her, "Why am I just now hearing about this for the first time?"

She answered in a low voice, "I didn't want it to be on my file."

"Yeah, or maybe you just liked it." Brody interrupted.

It was her turn to look amazed, then looked back at Hudson with a blameful look, so Hudson nodded to her, "Dismissed, Lieutenant." Liza left the room after saluting him.

Hudson looked at McGath, "Excuse me sir, may I have the room?"

McGath nodded and left the room as well as Ford, so Hudson looked at Jim angrily, causing Jim to respond, "Sir, I know that you are angry, but I think that she made that entire thing up, to get some revenge, so I felt that I had to speak my mind on this."

"I suggest you don't, Lieutenant, because you don't know what you are talking about... Get on your feet." Hudson interrupted.

Jim got up quickly and stood firmly, as Hudson moved to face him before continuing, "She didn't make it up Lieutenant… If you saw her rushing out of the room, you wouldn't think of it... If you saw her crying afterwards, you wouldn't say that… She didn't tell anyone about it the first time, because she hated to feel humiliated, she didn't want anyone's sympathy and she didn't want it in her file. She didn't tell anybody because she wanted to be the best." Hudson yelled at Jim, then scanned him, "You're dismissed."

At the Moon pool, Liza sat on edge of the pool, soaking her bare legs in the water, petting Darwin with a busy mind that became alerted when she heard, "Quite late, isn't it?!"

She turned to see Hudson entering the room with his shirt unbuttoned, showing his white t-shirt under it, holding a book.

She pulled her legs out of the water, but he motioned for her to sit still, so she put them back in, moving them carelessly in the water, while Darwin swam around her.

"I guess I couldn't sleep, sir." She replied.

"Couldn't or wouldn't let yourself?" He asked, sounding concerned.

She didn't answer but looked back down at the water still moving her legs around.

He squatted down beside of her, resting his hand on her shoulder, "You have to let this go, Liz."

She didn't answer him again, so he stood up saying, "You're not going back there, tomorrow."

She raised her head to look at him with wonder, "Sir!?"

"Henderson can come instead of you. You stay on SeaQuest." He replied.

She got up to face him, "Sir, I'm fine really… I can take care of myself… I just need to be more careful."

He looked into her eyes, "Liza, I don't want you to…"

"Please Captain; don't make me feel like I'm that weak." She interrupted.

"Okay Liza, just be more careful next time." He sighed.

She smiled at him, "Yes sir, thank you sir."

The next day, during the signing of the charter session, everyone stayed in their places to secure the session. Liza stood in the main hall at her post, on guard duty, as she noticed Mason Freeman passing through the hallway with a black case. She tracked him with her eyes until he went through a side door with an "authorized personnel only" doorplate. She called Ford up on her V-Pal, "Commander, I saw a suspicious guy, carrying a black case… I think that it's Mason Freeman."

"Where is he?" Ford replied.

"He went through a door next to the session hall, which leads to the main water and gas pipes of the building." She answered.

"Okay Lieutenant, I will send you some backup." he said, leaving his post to tell Hudson, who stood a few meters away from him in the session hall.

"Commander, I'll keep an eye on him until you send backup." Both Hudson and Ford heard her voice, so they looked at each other and Hudson said, "I'll go, you stay here and send Brody."

Liza pushed the door open quietly to see Freeman putting sniper parts together on the other side. He noticed her as soon as she had opened the door, so he put them down taking an electric zapper from his jacket. She approached him carefully trying to attack him, but he kicked her, causing her to fall down on the floor, leaving her to watch him run away through the passages.

She got up to follow closely behind him and saw him running up the stairs between the pipes. Liza decided to go another way to head Freeman off by going through a tiny passageway, but she couldn't find him anywhere.

She stood there confused for a moment before hearing his footsteps behind her. She quickly turned around to face him when he lashed out at her and tried to jab at her with the zapper, causing her to step backwards clumsily. Liza stretched out her arm to take hold of his hand but he was faster and stronger than she was. He caught her arm with his both of his hands and leveraged his weight to throw her over the side of the railing on the passage way. She screamed in panic clinging to a pipe beneath the passage.

Freeman grinned at her mischievously before he got back up on his feet to meet Hudson's fist in his face, knocking him to the floor. Hudson threw his cap aside quickly and extended his arm through the railing to Liza, "Give me your hand."

"I'm scared." She cried.

"Yeah, so am I... Look, I'm not going to let that happen... Now give me your hand." He replied, trying to sound calm.

She looked down before trying to give him her hand, but met the pipe once again, "I can't."

"I'm counting on you, Lieutenant... Do it now!" He yelled.

She pulled her body up and threw her arm up to meet Hudson's hand, "I've got you." he assured, pulling her up with both of his hands, as she clung to his arms until she was back onto the pathway with him. Hudson held her tightly against him as she sobbed and used his hand to gently lay her head against his chest to whisper into her ear, "It's okay, sweetheart… It's over… You're safe now."

He saw Brody coming, "Lieutenant, take this man into custody."


End file.
